Dillard



Dec. 6, 1960 plLLARp Re. 24,902

FISH HOOK EXTRACTORS Original Filed Sept. 9, 1954 CA RVEL DIL LA RD, INVEN TOR.

AT TORNE Y United States Patent Ofiice Reissued Dec. 6, 1360 FISH HOOKEXTRACTORS Carvel Dillard, 11229 Inglewood Ave., Lennox, Calif.

Original No. 2,797,523, dated July 2, 1957, Ser. No. 454,908, Sept. 9,1954. Application for reissue Oct. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 768,506

14 Claims. (Cl. 43-535) Matter enclosed in heav; brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to fish-hook extractors or dislodgers and theprincipal object of the invention is the provision of a device whichwill quickly and efliciently extract fishhooks of various sizes from themouth or gullet of a fish and without the necessity of the fishemanhandling or contacting the fish.

The extractor of the present invention comprises, 1n the broadestaspects thereof, a locating or positioning element which coacts with theembedded hook to locate and firmly hold the same in a predeterminedposition regardless of the size of the hook, and a stripper elementrelatively movable into and through the predetermined position to stripthe impaled flesh of the fish from the hook.

The locating and positioning element includes means which coact with thefishline and the hook to guide the hook into the predetermined positionand then, so long as the line is maintained somewhat taut, holds thehook in said position for the subsequent action of the stripper element.To insure proper action of the stripper element, the latter includesmeans cooperative with means carried by the positioning element and itsassociated elements to guide the stripper element through thepredetermined position.

The stripper element is shaped to partially embrace the barbed end ofthe hook and is formed with an arcnate leading edge which slidablyengages the hook for separating the hook from the impaled flesh of thefish. In the now preferred form of the present invention the positioningelement and stripper element are normally held spaced apart but arerelatively movable to bring the stripper element into working engagementwith the hook as located and held by the positioning element. In thenormal position of the stripper element the same is at least partiallyembraced or received within a member shaped to permit ease of insertionof the extractor into the mouth and gullet of the fish. Thus, theStripper element creates little if any interference to the insertion orentrance of the extractor into the mouth or gullet and reduces furtherinjury to the fish as the hook is removed.

In the extractor of the present invention the hook is not forced or tornfrom the mouth of the fish for the stripper element as it moves alongthe end of the hook merely separates the hook from the flesh of thefish. As will be understood, this reduces to a minimum injury to thefish. As the book can be extracted from the fish without the fishermanhandling the fish this feature permits many fishes hooked to be removedand then returned to the water as would be done, for example, if thefish was not of a legal size.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the extractor of the presentinvention showing a fish hook held by the positioning member,

Figure 2 is a top plan view partly in section to more clearly illustratethe component parts of the exterior,

Figure 3 is a section on an enlarged scale taken along line 33 of Figure2,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale showingthe stripper element in broken lines intermediate its normal positionand the locating member and in solid lines in the position it occupiesat the termination of the extracting operation,

Figure 5 is a section taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3 with the hookomitted,

Figure 6 is a section taken along line 66 of Figure 4, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale.

The extractor or dislodger of the present invention, referring now tothe drawing and more particularly to Figure 1 thereof, comprises a bodyportion 10 including a pair of telescopically mounted tubular parts 11and 12, the innermost part 11 coaxially projecting outwardly of the part12 at the opposite ends thereof. The one projecting portion of the part11 is fitted at the end thereof with a cap 13 of some suitable resilientmaterial such as rubber. The cap is formed with a thickened end wallforming a pad to engage the palm of the hand of the user as will behereinafter explained.

A coiled spring 14 seating on an annular shoulder 15 formed within thebore of the cap 13 and sleeving the projecting portion of the part 11acts to normally urge the part 12 to the left as viewed in Figure 1.This movement of the part 12 is limited by a rivet 16 or the likediametrically passing through the telescoping parts and mounting asleeve 17 to the part 12 adjacent the one end thereof. The rivet ispassed through openings formed in the member or part 12 and a pair ofelongate slots 18 diametrically formed in the wall of the part 11. Itwill now be seen that the shank of the rivet acts as a stop coactingwith the inner end of the slots 18 to limit movement of the part 12relative to the part 11 under the urgings of the spring 14.

The sleeve 17 integrally carries a pair of oppositely projecting bars 19forming a cross-head to be engaged by the fingers of the user as the padformed by the cap 13 rests in the palm of the users hand for drawing thepart 12 to the right as viewed in the figures of the drawing. Thismovement of the member 12 actuates a stripper element comprising achannel or U-shaped member 21 of a suitable resilient metal mounted tothe part 12 by a pair of resilient arms 22. The arms 22 have their endssuitably anchored to the opposite sides of the part 12 and extendoutwardly from the one end of the part to mount the stripper element 21longitudinally projected beyond the end of the part 12 opposite to thespring 14.

In the normal position of the stripper element the same is receivedwithin and at least partially embraced by a guide member 23 formed atthe end of the member 11 and shaped to permit easy insertion of theextractor into the mouth and gullet of the fish. The guide member 23includes an opening 23' as best seen in Figure 3, through which aportion of the element 21 projects as the latter moves into the member23. As the stripper element 21 is normally embraced by the guide member23, the stripper element does not interfere with the insertion of theextractor into the mouth or gullet of the fish. This construction aswill be understood, tends to eliminate undue tearing or mutilation ofthe tissues of the fish.

It should be pointed out here that the resilient arms 22 mounting thestripper element are of such a length relative to the relative coaxialmovement of the part 11 and 3 12 as determined by the length of theslots 18 that the stripper element 21 is snugly received within theguide element 23 when the rivet 16 is engaged with the inner ends of theslot 18. This eliminates all distortion of the resilient arm 22 in thenormal position of the parts. It will also be seen now that the slots 18also serve to prep erly orient the tubular parts 11 and 12 for the wallsof the slots, coacting with the rivet 16, prevent relative rotation ofthe tubular parts forming the body member 10.

The stripper element 21 coacts with a positioning member 24 which iscarried by the tubular part 11 to remove a hook embedded within themouth or gullet of the fish. In the illustrated embodiment of thepresent invention, the positioning member 24 comprises a bifurcated headelement 25 integrally formed at one end of a resilient strip 26, theopposite end of which is anchored within the bore of the tubular part 11by a rivet or similar fastening element 27. The resilient strip 26 andthe head 25 are shaped to lay closely against the inner wall surface ofthe tubular part 11 and normally close a slot 28 longitudinallyextending inwardly of the wall of the part and merging with a helicalslot 29 which extends about the wall of the part to a pointsubstantially 180 displaced from the slot 28. The slot 29 in turn mergeswith a linear or longitudinally extending slot 30 formed in the wall ofthe part 11 and extending substantially parallel with the slot 28. Thetubular part 12 is also formed with a helical slot 31 which registerswith the slot 29 when the parts 11 and 12 are in their normal positionrelative to each other as defined by the rivet 16 and the slot 18. Thehelical slots form an entrance opening for a fish line to permit theline to be moved into the inner part 11 as shown in Figure 3 of thedrawing.

In the operation of engaging the extractor about the line on which thefish is hooked the resilient strip 26 carrying the bifurcated head 25flexes inwardly to permit passage of the fish line into the tubular part11. In this operation the resilient strip 26 twists somewhat as itflexes under the urging of the fish line and thus offers no resistanceto entrance of the line.

To facilitate the insertion of the fishline into the registering helicalslots, the tubular part 12 carries a guide element 32 in the form of aresilient wire having one end anchored adjacent the inner end of theslot 31 to extend across the same after which it is bent back uponitself to form a closed loop. By merely slipping the line under the loopof the guide element tl-e line is guided by the same into theregistering slots and is held against separation from the extractor bythe guide element once the line is entered into the registering helicalslots.

With the fishline now disposed within the tubular part 11 the extractoris now moved downwardly of the line and the guide member 23 insertedinto the mouth of the fish and engaged against the flesh of the mouth orgullet depending where the fish is hooked. The line is now drawn taut tomove the shank of the hook 23 into a po sition somewhat as pictured inthe Figure 3 of the drawing. As the line and hook move toward such aposition during the inserting operation, they are guided by smoothlycontoured enlargements 34 integrally formed at the opposite edges of theopening 35 formed in the tubular part 11 into the notch of thebifurcated head 25. These enlargements 34, as best seen in Figure 2,also act to prevent the line from engaging between the one side or theother of the head 25 and the contiguous inner wall surface of thetubular part 11.

The notch of the head 25 is formed with a curved wall surface 36 whichis engaged by the bow of the hook as the latter moves between thebifurcation to earn the hook downwardly, as viewed in Figure 3, to movethe shank of the hook into an elongate slot 37 formed in the wall of thetubular part 11 opposite the opening 35. The disposition of the bow ofthe hook between the bifurcations of the head and the reception of theshank portion in the slot 37 aligns the hook medially of the extractorand locates the hook in a predetermined position. So long as the line onthe extractor is held taut the hook will be firmly held in thispredetermined position with the barbed portion 38 of the hook disposedas seen in the Figure 3.

With the hook now located in the position predetermined by the head 25and slot 37 the fisherman, as above explained, coaxially moves thetelescoping parts 11 and 12 to move the stripper element 21 from itsnormal position within the guide element 23 to the right as viewed inFigure 4. The stripper element 21 as it moves into engagement with thebarbed portion of the hook straddles the same and if the hook is notproperly located, forces the same between the bifurcations of the head25, to permit the arcuate leading edge to cleanly separate the impaledflesh of the fish from the hook. In this operation the line is heldstationary and the slot 30 permits relative movement of the parts 11 and12 without pinching or cutting the line.

To insure that the stripper element 21 moves through a preselected pathas it engages the hook positioned be-. tween the bifurcations of thehead 25, the present invention provides guide means partially carried bythe stripper element and partially carried by the tubular part 11. Theseguide means, in the now preferred embodiment of the invention, includesgrooves 39 formed along the opposite flanges of the stripper element 21,as best seen in Figure 6, in which the defining edges of the slot 28engage as the stripper element is moved into the open end of the slot.The bifurcated head 25 is formed with a sloping or inclined face 41which serves to guide the stripper element into the position necessaryto insure reception of the edges of the slot 28 into the grooves 39. Itwill be seen that as the stripper element moves into engagement with theinclined face of the head 25, the resulting camming action flexesinwardly the strip 26 as the arms 22 are oppositely flexed to mo e thestripper element upwardly as viewed in Figures 3 and 4.

It will be seen that reception of the defining edges of the slot 28 inthe grooves 39 will guide the stripper element along the slot 28 andthus hold the same in a predetermined path as the same moves over thehook embedded in flesh of the fish. Furthermore, the reception of theedges of the slot in the grooves 39 holds the stripper element againsttwisting movement and the stripper element, as it straddles the hook inits movement thereover, acts to hold the hook against rocking movementduring the actual stripping operation.

In the stripping operation the bow portion of the stripper element 21 isheld tightly engaged with the hook and will, as it is moved in the pathdefined by the edges of the slot 28, cam the hook downwardly, as viewedin Figures 3 and 4, to move the shank portion of the hook through theslot 37, if necessary because of the size of the hook. It will thus beseen that the extractor of the present invention can be efiiciently usedwith a relatively large range of hook sizes.

As the resilient strip 26 mounting the head 25 tends to hold the same ina position underlying the inner wall surface of the part 11 and as thearms 22 normally tend to hold the stripper element medially of the part11, the arcuate edge of the stripper element firmly engages the barbedend of the hook as it slides thereover during the stripping operation sothat the stripper element separates the impaled flesh from the hook withminimum injury to the impaled flesh. As there is thus no tearing of theflesh of the fish as the hook is extracted, additional injury to thefish is negligible. The extractor thus greatly enhances the successfulrestoration of under-sized fish to the water.

Once the hook has been extracted from the fish it is a simple matter todisengage the extractor from the fish line. This is done by firstdisengaging the hook from the head 25, after which the line is graspedjust rearwardly of the guide 32 and removed by giving the same a sharptug with a forward motion to move the line under the guide 32 andthrough the aligned slots 29 and 31. In this operation, the line isengaged between the resilient strip 26 and moves between the head 25 andthe contiguous wall of the member 11, the head 25 twisting slightly topermit the line to separate from the extractor.

The overall dimensions of the extractor of the present invention arerelatively small and the extractor can he very conveniently carriedwithin the tackle box of the fisherman or even in a pocket of hisclothing if he wishes. The extractor as further shown is very easilyapplied to the line and once properly applied to the line is automaticin operation for the various parts coact with the line and hook toextract the latter from the mouth or gullet of the fish with little orno additional injury to the fish.

Although the now preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and illustrated herein it is to be understood that the inventionis not to be limited thereto for it is susceptible to changes in formand detail within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

. l. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a pair of relatively movabletelescoping tubular members having line entrance slots formed in thewalls thereof; said slots registering with each other in one position ofcoaxia' adjust ment of said members, an elongate resilient strip havingone end fixed within the inner telescoping member and normally closingthe entrance slot formed in the wall thereof; a bifurcated element atthe free end of said elongate strip for engaging and holding a fishhook; a stripper member; resilient arms mounting said stripper member tothe outermost tubular member to project longitudinally beyond the oneend thereof; means for guiding said stripper member for movement in apreselected path as said telescoping members are moved re'ative to eachother; and means for relatively moving said teesconing members wherebysaid stripper member moves over a hook engaged and held by saidbifurcated member to strip the impaled flesh of the fish therefrom.

2. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a pair of telescoping tubularmembers the innermost member extending outwardly beyond the oppositeends of the outermost member, said members having line entrance slotsformed in the walls thereof whereby a fish line may be moved into saidmembers; means carried by the one end of said innermost member forming aguide member to facilitate entrance of the extractor into the mouth of afish as the extractor is moved over the line to the embedded hook; meanscarried by said innermost member for engaging and locating the fish hookattached to said line; stripper means carried by said outermost member;resilient means normally holding said telescoping members relative toeach other to normally dispose said stripper means within said guidemeans; means for guiding said stripper means for movement over a hookengaged and held by said locating means; and means for applyingoppositely directed forces to said telescoping members to relativelymove the same whereby said stripper means moves over said engaged hookto separate the same from the impaled flesh of the fish.

3. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a hollow body member; a bifurcatedmember; means for resiliently mounting said bifurcated member in saidbody member and normally holding the same in a preselected positionrelative to said body member; means for guiding a fish hook between thebifurcations of said member; a stripper element movable into engagementwith a hook held between the bifurcations of said member, said elementas it engages said bifurcated member moving the same out of saidpreselected position to dispose the bow of said hook in a positioningslot formed in said body member; the Walls of said slot coacting withsaid bifurcated member to locate and hold said hook in a predeterminedposition; and guide means carried by said stripper element and coactingwith guide means carried by said body member for holding said stripperelement in a path of movement in which said element moves over said hookin said predetermined position to separate the latter from the impaledflesh of a fish.

4. A fish book as defined in claim 3 in which said stripper elementcomprises a U-shaped element adapted to partially embrace said engagedhook and having an arcuate leading edge to strip the impaled flesh ofthe fish from said hook as said element moves thereover.

5. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a pair of relatively movabletelescoping tubular members having fish line entrance slots formed inthe walls thereof mutually registering with each other in a normalrelative position of said members; an elongate resilient strip havingone end fixed within the innermost telescoping member; a bifurcatedelement at the free end of said elongate strip and coacting therewith tonormally close the entrance slot formed in the wall of said innermostmember; a stripper member; and resilient arms mounting said strippermember to the outermost member to project longitudinally beyond the oneend thereof; said stripper member moving into engagement with saidelement and moving the same inwardly to open said slot normally closedthereby as said tubular members are relatively moved in oppositedirections whereby said stripper member moves through said slots andover a hook engaged and held by said bifurcated element to separate thehook from the impaled flesh of the fish.

6. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a pair of telescoping hollowmembers, the innermost member being of .a length greater than theoutermost member, said members having line entrance slots formed in thewalls thereof; a cross head mounted to the outermost member adjacent oneend thereof; a resilient pad carried by the innermost member at the endthereof adjacent said cross head; means, including resilient means,normally holding said members in a position in which said slots registerwith each other; an elongate resilient strip having one end fixed withinthe inner telescoping member and norma ly closing the entrance slotformed in the wall thereof; a bifurcated element at the free end of saidelongate strip between the bifurcations of which a fish hook is to bepositioned; a U-shaped stripper member; resilient arms mounting saidstripper member to the outermost member to project longitudinally beyondthe one end thereof; and means for guiding said stripper member formovement over a hook engaged and held by said bifurcated member whensaid telescoping members are slidably moved relative to each other byoppositely directed forces applied to the cross head and pad,respectively, whereby said stripper member moves over said hook toseparate the same from the impaled flesh of the fish.

7. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a pair of telescoping tubularmembers having line entrance slots formed in the walls thereof whereby afishline may be moved into said members; a bifurcated element forengaging and holding a fishhook attached to a line resiliently mountedwithin the innermost telescoping member and normally closing the lineentrance slot therein; stripper means carried by the other of saidmembers; means for guiding said stripper means for movement over a hookengaged and held by said bifurcated element; and means for appyingoppositely directed forces to said members to relatively move the same,whereby said stripper means moves over said engaged hook to separate thesame from the impaled flesh of the fish; said stripper means includingmeans engageable with said bifurcated element and operable to cam thesame inwardly as said members are relatively moved, whereby saidstripper element moves into the entrance slot normally closed by saidbifurcated element.

8. A fish hook extractor comprising: an elongate member having an endadapted to be received within the bow of the fish hook to be extracted;first means adapted to dispose said end of said member within said bow,yield:

ably adjacent the inside of fishhook barb and outside the flesh of thefish in which the hook is embedded; an element movable relative to saidmember, said element being recessed to receive and to pass over in closefitting engagement the back side of the barbed end of the hook; andsecond means, said second means being connected to said element todispose the latter in a position spaced axially beyond said yieldablydisposed end of said mem ber and radially beyond the fishhook bow, andsaid sec ond means being movable axially relative to the first means,whereupon when the second means is so moved relative to the first meansin a direction away from said yieldably disposed end of the member, itdraws said element from its said disposed position axially toward andover the back side of the barbed hook point to press the barb againstsaid yieldably disposed end of the said member, thereby stripping theflesh from the hook.

9. A fish hook extractor comprising: an elongate member having an endadapted to be received within the bow of the fish hook to be extracted;means adapted to dispose sdid end of said member within said bow,yieldably adjacent the inside of fish hook barb and outside the flesh ofthe fish in which the hook is embedded, said means further includingstructure to orient the hook in a plane substantially normal to thedirection of yielding of said end; an element movable relative to saidmember, said element being recessed to receive and to pass over in closefitting engagement the back side of the barbed end of the hook; andsecond means, said second means being connected to said element todispose the latter in a position spaced axially beyond said yieldablydisposed end of said member and radially beyond the fish hook bow, andsaid second means being movable axially relative to the first means,whereupon when the second means is so moved relative to the first meansin a direction away from said yieldably disposed end of the member itdraws said element from its said disposed position axially toward andover the back side of the barbed hook point to press the barb againstsaid yieldably disposed end of the said member, thereby stripping theflesh jrom the hook.

10. A fish hook extractor comprising: an elongate tubular element, saidelement being open at one end and being axially slotted a predetermineddistance from said end; means disposed in said slotting to close thesame, said means being yieldable at said tube end in a radially inwarddirection; means to orient the hook in a plane substantially normal tothe direction of yielding of said first mentioned means; a memberextendable from said open tube end, said member being shaped to slideover the back side of the barbed point of the fish hook, said tubularelement being orificed at a point spaced axially from its said open endto pass a fish line therethrough; and elongate means connected to saidmember, said elongate means being slidable longitudinally relative tothe tubular element, whereby, upon the last said means being so slidrelative to the tubular element away from said open tube and, the memberis drawn axially relative to the tube and over the fish hook to pressthe latter against the first said means to cause the latter to yieldradially inwardly, stripping the flesh impaled upon the hook.

I]. A device for extracting a fish hook having a line and connected to afish line from the throat or gullet of a fish, said device comprising:an elongate element, said element being open at one extremity andincluding a hollowed portion extending axially from said open extremitywherein the line end of the fish hook may be received, the wall of theelement defining said hollowed portion terminating at least in part inan edge surface lying in a plane intersecting the axis of the element atan acute angle, said wall further being slotted longitudinally from thesaid surface which extends farthest into the body of said element,thereby preceding said slotting by a pair of surfaces converging fromthe open extremity toward said slotting to form a mouth leading to theslotting, said wall also being oppositely slotted to receive part of thefish hook to orient the latter in a plane substantially normal to thefirst mentioned slotting; a thin-walled elongate member, said memberbeing mounted within said hollowed portion of said element to cover atleast a portion of said first mentioned slotting and to yield radiallyinwardly, under pressure at its end nearest said mouth; a passage insaid element from said hollowed portion to the exterior of the element,said passage being disposed more remotely from said open extremity ofthe element than the slotting, said passage serving to permit the fishhook string to be drawn therethrough; a stripper cap, said cap beingshaped to be adapted to slide axially over the outside of the barbed endof the fish hook when the latter is disposed in the slotting and againstsaid member; a pair of connecting elements, the last elements beingsecured to and diverging from said cap for a predetermined distance andthereafter extending for a further distance parallel to said elongateelement; first means slidable longitudinally in relation to the latter,said first means being extensibly joined to said connecting elements andnormally spring biased in reference to said elongate element to disposesaid cap at the entrance to said mouth; and second means to enable saidelongate element and first means to be manually displaced relative toeach other by overcoming said spring bias, whereby, when the string of afish hook is drawn through the passage to the point where the hook isbrought into said mouth and onto said member, and said cap is also drawninto the said mouth and over the outside of the hook to press the hookbarb against the member, the latter is caused to yield radiallyinwardly, and the flesh of the fish is stripped from the barb of thehook upon which it is impaled.

12. A device for extracting a fish hook having a line and connected to afish line from the throat or gullet of a fish, said device comprising:an elongate element, said element being open at one extremity andincluding a hollowed portion extending axially from said open extremitywherein the line end of the fish hook may be received, the wall of theelement defining said hollowed portion terminating at least in part inan edge surface lying in a plane intersecting the axis of the element atan acute angle, said wall further being slotted longitudinally from thesaid surface which extends farthest into the body of said element,thereby preceding said slotting by a pair of surfaces converging fromthe open extremity toward said slotting to form a mouth leading to theslotting, said wall also being oppositely slotted to receive part of thefish hook to orient the latter in a plane substantially normal to thefirst mentioned slotting; a thin-walled elongate member, said memberbeing mounted within said hollowed portion of said element to cover atleast a portion of said first mentioned slotting and to yield radiallyinwardly, under pressure at its end nearest said mouth; a passage insaid element from said hollowed portion to the exterior of the element,said passage being disposed more remotely from said open extremity ofthe element than the slotting, said passage serving to permit the fishhook string to be drawn therethrough; a stripper cap, said cap beingshaped to be adapted to slide axially over the outside of the barbed endof the fish hook when the latter is disposed in the slotting and againstsaid member; a pair of connecting elements, the last elements beingsecured to and diverging from said cap for a predetermined distance andthereafter extending for a further distance parallel to said elongateelement; said connecting elements being slidable longitudinally inrelation to the said element and normally spring biased in reference tosaid elongate element to dispose said cap at the entrance to said mouth;and means to enable said elongate element and said connecting elementsto be manually displaced relative to each other by overcoming saidspring bias, whereby, when the string of a fish hook is drawn throughthe passage to the point where the hook is brought into said mouth andonto said member, and said cap is also drawn into the said mouth andover the outside of the hook to press the hook barb against the member,the latter is caused to yield radially inwardly, and the flesh of thefish is stripped from the barb of the hook upon which it is impaled.

13. A fish hook extractor, comprising: a hollow body member having apositioning slot formed in the wall thereof; a resilient member mountedin said hollow body member having at least one end; said body memberhaving means for guiding a fish hook against said one end 0] saidresilient member; a stripper element movable into engagement with thehook held against said one and of said resilient member moving the sameto dispose the bow of said hook in the positioning slot in said bodymember, the walls of said slot co-acting with said resilient member tolocate and hold the hook in a predetermined position; and guide meanscarried by said stripper element and coacting with the guiding means ofsaid body member for holding said stripper element in a path of movementin which said element moves over said hook in said predeterminedposition to separate the latter from the impaled 14. A fish hookextractor, including, a hollow body member; a bifurcated member; meansfor mounting said bifurcated member in said body member and normallyholding the same in a preselected position relative to said body member;and a stripper element mounted on said hollow body member and movableinto engagement with a hook held between the bifurcations of saidbifurcated member, said stripper element including resilient guide meanscausing said stripper element to force the hook against the bifurcationsof said member as said stripper member moves over the hook to separatethe latter from the impaled fiesh of the fish.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the origlnal patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 430,849 Groth June 24, 1890 2,054,236 Behr Sept.15, 1936 2,578,289 Danielson Dec. 11, 1951 2,670,.5 61 Howorth et a1Mar. 2, 1954 2,695,471 Imberti Nov. 30, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 235,367Great Britain June 18, 1925

